These Alabama Fire Crackers are the perfect snack for those who like things a little spicy. There is almost zero prep time and they keep beautifully. These savory little bites are sure to earn a spot on your regular snacking rotation.

What are the Ingredients in Alabama Fire Crackers?

These require simple ingredients that you may already have on hand. To make sure you can get this snack in your hands ASAP, I’ve also listed simple swaps where good alternatives exist, so let’s get started. To make Alabama Fire Crackers, you will need:

Canola oil
- Vegetable oil would also work
Hot sauce
- I used Texas Pete hot sauce, however, any thin hot sauce would work just fine. Some examples would be:
  - Tabasco
  - Cholula
  - Tapito
- You will just want to avoid attempting to substitute a hot sauce of a much thicker consistency, more of a salsa texture, as this will not work as well for this recipe.
Mini Saltine Crackers
- The mini saltines are my personal favorite for this recipe; however, oyster crackers or even full-sized saltine crackers would both work very well if you do not have the minis on hand.
Crushed red pepper flakes
- This is such a key component of these crackers that I really would no recommend substituting the crushed red pepper flakes
Spicy Ranch Dressing Mix
- Again, I think this really helps the dish, but in a pinch, regular Dry Ranch Dressing could be substituted and then just add a bit more of your spicy ingredients, or end up with a somewhat milder dish
Garlic & Onion Powders
- Garlic or Onion Salts or omit if you must
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Regular black pepper would work, or simply omit

How to make Alabama Fire Crackers?

As I said, this snack is really just about as easy as it gets. Give your oven a quick preheat and then:

Combine the canola oil and hot sauce until well blended
Add the canola mixture to the crackers and then combine until fully coated
Combine all of the dry spices and ingredients
Sprinkle the dry mixture over the crackers and mix to fully combine
Transfer to a baking sheet and spread into an even layer
Briefly bake and allow to cool completely before storing

How can I make Alabama Fire Crackers LESS Spicy?

What!? Why would you want to? All jokes aside, asking how hot or spicy someone wants their snack is sort of like asking how sweet they like their coffee. There is a huge range and everyone’s preferences are just a little bit different. So, if you would like to dial back the heat without losing the core goodness that is the Alabama Fire Crackers, here are a few easy ways to accomplish that goal:

Hot Sauce
- You could use a milder hot sauce, or simply delete the hot sauce all together
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- As I said earlier, I really feel the red pepper flakes are an essential ingredient for this recipe. That said, you could easily cut the amount by half or even by a third to still maintain the flavor, while cutting some of the heat.
Spicy Ranch Dressing Mix
- Admittedly, this ingredient doesn’t add a huge amount of heat to the dish; however, if you would prefer to swap regular ranch, there will not be a huge change in the final dish.
Freshly Ground Black pepper
- While I really like this in the dish, you could choose to cut it to ⅛ teaspoon or simply omit the pepper to decrease the spice level.

How to store Alabama Fire Crackers?

These crackers store VERY well in your favorite air-tight container. Transfer only once fully cooled to avoid any potential “steaming” of the crackers. They should keep for at least 2 weeks after baking when stored properly.

How to GIFT Alabama Fire Crackers?

If you are like me you are OFTEN on the look out for cute, easy gifts for the massive list of people you want to find a small gift for. Think kids’ teachers, aides, postal workers, manicurists, etc. I love to do food gifts for several reasons:

Almost everyone loves a random snack or treat
It is So easy to batch-make some ‘treats’ when you have a large gifting list
It can be really tough to try and pick an actual ‘gift’ item for people you may not know that well: what scent for the candle?, what lotion? What movie ticket, etc. But, we all ove food.

So, let’s explore how to give Alabama Fire Crackers:

First, the good news, as I stated above, these crackers keep REALLY well, making them a perfect choice for gifting as they will easily keep. So, how to package:

Mason Jars- these work great, maintain the airtight seal and you can easily add a bow or tie to make the jar look more gift like
Gift wrapped empty item. Think cleaned can of pringles, tub of oatmeal, etc. Empty it out, wipe it down, wrap the tube, fill with the crackers, add a bow and go.
Cellophane bags with a tie
Chinese take-out boxes. Now here, you WILL need new. Fortunately a lot of gift stores or restaurant supply places offer these and they would make a very cute presentation for your crackers.
“Brown Paper Packages Tied up with String” would also be adorable. Caveat here, make sure your brown bags are properly lined, otherwise the crackers will tend to show oil stains after sitting for a bit, not the cutest look for a gift.
Bag it, or, rather, Baggie-it. Big baggie, gallon baggie, it is all up to you. Top with a bow, throw the bag in a bowl, mug or crock and gift away.